Articles written by R. Michael Straight

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Creative Writing > Memoirs Memoirs: Experiences with ghosts: 14 of 118

The following is true and is not fabricated. Six years ago I lived in a large farm house in central Ohio. The Oakhurst House, as it was known, was upwards of 120 years old, and, by all rights, should have been listed in the historical registry. However, due to many years of less-than-attentive tenants, the house was falling ...
Creative Writing > Satire Satire: Teachers: 1 of 6

So you want to be a teacher? Fantastic. In the next few paragraphs I will attempt to outline some history, expectations, suggestions, and little-known facts as you embark into this amazing, lucrative and much-appreciated field! For thousands of years, teachers have been held in high esteem in nearly every society. Frequently...
Hobbies & Games > Video Games (Other) Does violence in video games contribute to real life violence?: 43 of 167

No. At least, it should not. That is, for a normally functioning, non-sociopathic gamer, shooting a zombie on a television screen should not, does not, and will not directly manifest the desire to shoot a living person with a real gun. Having said that, it's important to note some things. First, it's assumed that the person ...
Education > Standardized Tests Should the SAT be abolished for college admissions decisions?: 4 of 14

College entrance exams are good in theory. If a school wishes to maintain a certain standard, there must be a way to qualify and quantify this. Exam scores are, by their nature, a simple and effective way of doing this. Unfortunately, one standard exam (such as the SAT) is only useful if the knowledge base of all test takers...
Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: Death of a loved one: 326 of 562

I once knew a man who said words so beautifully I wanted to catch them in nets and use them as bedding. From his chapped lips syllables dripped like Syntec. Machines purred at his soft commands. Hearing his chastening whisper, his stubble tickling my ear, I would shrink and mourn my battered, childish pride. At the dinner ta...
Creative Writing > Satire Satire: The prom: 3 of 4

The Prom, a mandatory "dance" held in high schools all over the United States, Canada, Egypt, Iceland, Cuba, South Korea, Angola, Cameroon, and parts of southern Uzbekistan, is often referred to as "Devil's Night" or "The Night Before the Morning After" (occasionally the word "Pill" is added, though usually in jest).It serve...
Computers & Technology > Internet Issues Pornography on the Internet: Free speech or subject to regulation?: 24 of 28

Regulate content? No. Regulate access? Yes. Pornography is the recording and subsequent distribution of sexual acts. To be lawful, it must occur between consenting adults (age eighteen in the United States). What two or more consenting adults involve themselves in sexually is their business and their business alone. If they ...
Education > Homeschooling The case against Christian homeschooling: 4 of 4

The cons of Christian homeschooling are no different from any other type of homeschooling: limited exposure, lack of breadth and little, if any, social assimilation. Part of schooling-either public or private-is the students' access to a vast array of knowledge, points of view and opinions, many of which can drastically ques...